An October 18 Yahoo News/YouGov Survey asked 3,878 US adults: “From everything you’ve seen and heard, do you think that Hamas is or is not a terrorist organization?” The response was overwhelmingly hostile to Hamas. 68% said Hamas is a terrorist organization; only 8% said it isn’t; 24% were not sure.
Segmented by regions, in the northeast, 68% said Hamas is a terrorist organization, in the Midwest 69%, in the south 65%, and in the West 70%.
Segmented by gender, 74% of males and 62% of females said Hamas is a terrorist organization. By politics: 69% of Democrats, 60% of Independents, and a whopping 78% of Republicans went with the terrorist choice. Finally, segmented according to race, 78% of Whites, 54% of Hispanics, and only 46% of Blacks went with Yes.
But things changed considerably when respondents were asked: “Do you think that Israel does or does not try to minimize harm to civilians when it makes strikes in Gaza?” Only 42% said Israel does try, 27% said it doesn’t, and 31% were not sure.
50% of males and only 35% of females said Israel tries to minimize harm to civilians. Only 34% of Democrats and 36% of Independents believed it does. And again, Republicans came through with 61% saying Israel tries to avoid harming civilians. Similarly, 46% of Whites, 38% of Blacks, and 35% of Hispanics sided with Israel. However, in none of the segments did the percentage of anti-Israel opinion outnumber the pro-Israel numbers.
An earlier YouGov survey of 1,000 US adults conducted on October 13, less than a week after the 10/7 Hamas attack, found that “American sympathy for the Israeli people has grown, while about as many Americans have less sympathy for the Palestinian people now than they did a month ago, as have more. Americans also are more likely to favor than oppose an Israeli military order to evacuate the north of Gaza.”
And an October 10-12 survey found that “Americans are more likely to side with Israel, though without big majorities — many see both sides equally or are unsure. By 39% to 12%, Americans are more likely to sympathize with the Israeli side than the Palestinian side. By 35% to 13%, they are more likely to blame the Palestinian side than the Israeli side for the escalation of violence. And Americans are more likely to say it is very or somewhat important to protect Israel than to say it is important to protect the Palestinian people (61% vs. 36%).”
